Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Where the wild things are: Miho Citizen Forest 三保市民の森

Miho Citizen Forest三保市民の森 is located to the west of
Niiharu Citizen Forest 新治市民の森. The
map is here (in Japanese). Roughly
speaking the two forests are separated by 6 campuses of educational
institutions and JSAT, a satellite operator. So, the area itself is more of one
continuous forest rather than 2 forests divided by housing complex or
metropolitan businesses.

If you come to Miho Forest by public
transportation, take Kanachu-Buses from Tsurugamine Station 鶴ヶ峰 of Sotetsu Line, or from Nakayama Station 中山 of JR
Yokohama Line. There are 2 bus routes to choose. One is Route Naka-53, between
Nakayama Station and Tsurugamine Station via Imajuku 今宿. (Mind
you, there is another bus service between Nakayama and Turugamine operated by
Sotetsu-bus withouht going to Imajuku. This route does not come to Miho Forest
Park.) Another is Route Yoko-52, between Nakayama Station and Yokohama Station
via Kawaijuku 川井宿 and Tsurugamine. (Come to think of it, if you come from Yokohama
Station anyway, this Yoko-52 would be the cheapest option as we don’t have to
pay for the fare for the trains ...) When you take those buses to Miho Park
from Nakayama Station, find Bus Stop Number 1 in the South Square of the
station. In Tsurugamine, find Tsuragmine bus terminal from the North Exit of
the station. If you come from Tsurugamine Station, here is the time table.

Get
off the bus at the bus stop for Miho Citizen Forest 三保市民の森 (Miho Shimin-no-Mori) with a bus-stop shelter. I
love its simple and rustic design.

Miho Shimin-no-Mori Stop

Next to the bus stop is a small car park, open
only for weekends and holidays, for you coming to the park by car. To find an entrance of the Forest from here is
a bit tricky. From the bus stop, go south a bit, just 10 m or so, then turn right
for the first small road.

At the
end of the way,

there are 2 tiny roads, One-michi 尾根道 (Ridge Way) and Tani Michi 谷道 (Valley Way), both leading
you into the Miho Forest.

We can
also come to the Forest from Tokaichiba 十日市場 JR
station. Go to Bus Stop #1 in the South Square of Tokaichiba Station. The
service runs between Aobadai-chuoh Station 青葉台中央 of Den’entoshi Line and Wakabadai-chuoh 若葉台中央, with Yokohama City Bus Service 23 or Tokyu Bus
Route Blue 23. Hereare the timetables for the Buses to Wakabadai-chuoh from Tokaichiba Station
(as of April 2015). The bus stop for the Forest is Kirigaoka Kohkoh
(High School) 霧が丘高校. Find a traffic light named “Kirigaoka Kohkoh.” At
the crossing, facing Wakabadai Junior High 若葉台中学 take the
road on the left. Keep going to meet a T-crossing. Choose the way on the right which
eventually becomes Ridge Way of Miho Citizen Forest.

You
can see Wakabadai Junior High from O-14 like this.

The 40.5
ha Park was opened in 1972, spreading over a hillside as one of the biggest
remaining forests in the City of Yokohama. The tallest trees of the Park are
human planted Cryptomeria japonica, Chamaecyparis obtuse, Chamaecyparis
pisifera, and natural Quercus myrsinifolia, Magnolias, and others. Under the
canopy are rich colonies of various ferns and Sasa palmatas, etc. In Japan, at
this moment, there are about 600 kinds of known ferns. We can find 100 of them
here in Miho Forest. This is the Forest of ferns.

Mind
you, the network of treks within the park is complicated. There is no circular
route of the park, Ridge Way (with numbering O-1 to 15) on the east, and Valley
Way (T-1 to T-9) in the west both of which connect to the standard paved roads
for the surrounding residential areas. Ridge
Way has 15 exit points colored Pink, some of which give us a clear view of
Tanzawa 丹沢and Mt. Fuji in a fine day.

Er, well, Red, yeah

The
points for the Valley Way are 9 colored in blue.

Both Ridge and Valley Ways are popular among
local joggers, especially for training to trek-run. These 2 Ways are connected by “Promenades”
crisscrossing in the Forest. The point numbering is in orange from P-1 to P25, sometimes
with a map of the Forest and benches.

If we
choose the trek to the right from the Miho Citizen Forest bus stop, we go into
the Valley Way that runs (almost) along the graveled road for cars used by
locals.

In the
middle of the route there is a source of Umeda River 梅田川, a tributary of Onda River 恩田川 which in turn is a tributary of Tsurumi River 鶴見川. The spring now has a name, Kotori-no-Oasis 小鳥のオアシス (“Oasis for small birds”).

You
will find a Way climbing upwards which brings us to the northern tip of
the Park.

When
you go the way to the left from the Miho Citizen Forest bus stop entrance, it
brings you to Ridge Way and the treks within the Park.

Just next to the sign to Ridge Way, there is an
ancient road sign indicating the Ridge Way of Miho Forest was once a main road
for pilgrims to Aburi Shrine 阿夫利神社 in
Oyama Mountain大山 in Tanzawa.

Soon on the right, there is Miho-daira 三保平, an open space equipped with picnic benches and toilet.

Toilet

… and
drinking water

This
is the only toilet in the Forest. From here, you can either proceed to the Ridge
Way, or turn right to deep inside. If you choose the direction to Ridge Way and
check Yellow Point 5, you may find a small farm land cultivating vegetables. The
system of Citizen Forest of Yokohama is a kind of public-private enterprise
between the municipality and the landlord. The majority of such small farms
within the Citizen Forests are by the landlord to preserve their way of farming.
Further to the direction of Wakabadai Jr. High, on the left, there is a
structure looked like a covered canal. It is a part of 37 km aqueduct from Lake Sagami相模湖 to Nishiya Water Purification Plant西谷浄水場 which distributes drinking water to the downtown of
the City.

Inside
the forest, there are several treks connecting the Ridge and Valley Ways. They
are not straight, but winding, crisscrossing and often with steep ups and
downs. + Sometimes, especially after rain, several points can suffer
land-slides that make the routes impassable. The risk with nests of vespinae
and gloydius blomhoffii applies here. Having said that, it is just a small
park, surrounded by residential areas of Yokohama. The total length of the trekking
network is only 9 k. If you get lost inside, you can either climb up to the
Ridge Way leading to Wakabadai Housing Complex 若葉台団地, or down to the Valley Way which brings you to
Miho Forest Park bus stop we found before. Grab your map and compass, and
examine where you are when you find a check point along the way. No need to
panic.

Some of you may get excited with my description
of the forest for its “wilderness.” You are not alone. It seems to me the
Forest had problems with Survival Gamers so that you will find many notices
saying “Survival Game is prohibited in the Forest.”

I do agree with the Forest administrator for
this ban. This is a part of the final front to preserve original nature in the
metropolitan Tokyo area. Stomping the ground with survival game surely damages
the fauna and flora of the Forest. Miho Forest surely has a charm of many kinds
of ferns colonizing the space here and there.

If you manage Japanese, you’ll notice each
check point has species name of birds, which are frequent flyers around the
point.

Choosing the right time of the day, we can
enjoy bird watching there.

Please take your trashes with you when you say
good-bye to the forest. There is no trash-bin, of course.

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About Me

My
family moved to Yokohama from Tokyo before I became 3 years old. Since then,
Yokohama is my home town. (Though, I cannot be Hamakko since I was born in Tokyo ... Hey, this is Japan!) I have watched my playground is changing always. I
hope you find Yokohama interesting place. With love, Naomi